Kelly E. Mero, Ph.D. has worked with children throughout her entire career. She worked in various positions at New Haven Public Schools for 13 years helping to decrease truancy, manage disruptive behavior, increase academic scores, and support students’ non-academic needs. After New Haven Public Schools, she managed a juvenile parole program in Hartford at Catholic Charities. Dr. Mero currently works as an Education Consultant with the Connecticut State Department of Education. She is involved in work focused on academic advancement, diversity, equity, inclusion, race, rigor, and school development for the state’s magnet schools.

Dr. Mero is a life-long resident of New Haven. She credits her father, Harrison Mero, with instilling community engagement in her. She currently organizes an annual Juneteenth event in the Elm City that focuses on families and fun in a festival that includes community resource tables that provide information on education, employment opportunities, financial health, housing, mental and physical health, and social intelligence with the goal of building a stronger community.

Dr. Mero has a deep desire to help people – family, friends, and strangers. She has three adult sons whom she is especially proud of and she is enthusiastic about keeping up with her toddler grandson. She is fond of creative projects, loves to laugh, and is currently learning to increase her capacity of using the laptop!